Mumbai: Khar police on Tuesday arrested a 38-year-old Bandra man for allegedly selling SIM cards registered in other people’s names without documents or KYC, in violation of TRAI rules and Telecom Act, 2023.
Police used eight Rs 500 notes from secret funds for the operation and recovered the money from Shaikh after apprehending him. At least 39 SIM cards and a mobile phone were seized from Shaikh. Acting on a tip-off on Sept 1, police sent the decoy customer to Shaikh at Linking Road in Khar West. The decoy allegedly bought two activated SIM cards for Rs 4,000 without providing identity documents. Police said 39 inactive SIM cards found with him were intended for sale without documents at higher prices. DCP (West Zone-2) Mohit Garg said the investigation is in its initial stage.
A decoy customer approached the accused, Iman Abdul Jabbar Shaikh, seeking a new SIM card and said he had no Aadhaar card. In the complaint, constable R C Chaugule said: “Sub-inspector Atul Murdare received a tip-off about a person selling SIM cards on Linking Road without any documents. Shaikh allegedly told police that he was a mobile network promoter, had sold SIM cards from a stall in Bandra for the past year and obtained them from a distributor. A Khar police officer said a preliminary inquiry indicated that Shaikh allegedly collected documents from genuine customers, including labourers and daily-wage workers, and used them without their knowledge to activate three or four additional SIM cards for each legitimate connection.
Investigators are examining how many SIM cards he had sold and whether cyber fraudsters used them to open mule bank accounts or whether they were procured by anti-social elements. Murdare informed senior inspector Santosh Kate before initiating action. Checks on Shaikh’s mobile phone showed that the two SIM cards sold to the decoy had been activated. Police are investigating how he procured the cards and identifying previous buyers.